I feel like we have been preparing for elections for months already and in a way we have been. Once a month since Aug, the staff of TASOK has been getting together to discuss protocol "if" any security needs were to arise during election time.
Evan and I are not living on Campus so some of the preparations and needs are a little different, security is a little more of an issue for us.
Here is a general run down on how we are preparing for elections in the next couple days.
As of today, we have over 60 students that have left or are leaving the country for elections. In a school of 290 that is a huge drop in attendance, all these students will be returning in January and this number also has a very high chance of growing if this become unstable out here. The students leave for many different reasons, many embassy are evacuation the families and this is mandatory. There are quite a few families who have chosen to leave on their own terms as well and a lot of businesses also send their employee's and families back home until January. I myself will be loosing approximately 15 ( as of right now) between grades 6-8.
You can definitely tell their is tension in and around the city but I think a lot of this contributes to the unknown, 4 years ago during the last elections the city broke out in war. so many innocent people lost their lives, buildings were destroyed and the city regressed even further than before.
As of right now the Canadian government had authorized evacuation, this is not demanding that we leave the city but if we don't feel safe we can go to our employers and let them know that the Canadian government authorized evacuation and this allows us the freedom to go. Next step if this get unsafe would be full evacuation and then you don't have a choice in the matter.... well you always ave a choice but if you stayed it probably wouldn't be safe.
How are Evan and I preparing for Elections ( as well as all the other ex-patriots)?
We have been told to prepare to be on the safe side, As of today I am not allowed walking to school anymore even with a guard, we are trying to find me a vehicle to drive but worse case scenario Dr. Epp at TASOK will lend me her vehicle for the next little while. Evan and I will also be stopping out travel at night before the weekend. Aside from driving to TASOK! We have also been warned that it is possible that some time between November 28th ( voting day) and Dec 6th ( results day) we may not be able to leave out house due to safety. So we are buying extra food ( for about 7-10 extra days) and filling up with extra diesel so we can run our generator. We are hoping for a peaceful and calm election period here, if there is a higher chance that things are getting unsteady we will not take chances and will come home a little earlier for Christmas break. As of now our flights are booked for the 14th of December and everything should have calmed down by then.... on the chance that things get a little heated!
For now we remain positive.
On a completely different note our pool is FINALLY up and running oh and my hair is starting to drive me crazy!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Stay Tuned!
I realize this blog has been very silent these last 3 weeks! We have been very busy around here and I am coming off of a crazy couple weeks at school. Now that the trimester has changed and and report cards are done I will have a little more time to write!
seriously counting down the days until we return to Canada! Well, maybe not the days because I couldn't tell you how many off hand but I know that this Wednesday is 3 WEEKS until we leave!!! Now I have processed the Day count, we leave it 23 days and that seems WAY to far away!!!!!
It can't come soon enough!
seriously counting down the days until we return to Canada! Well, maybe not the days because I couldn't tell you how many off hand but I know that this Wednesday is 3 WEEKS until we leave!!! Now I have processed the Day count, we leave it 23 days and that seems WAY to far away!!!!!
It can't come soon enough!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
A post of pictures
I realize that I haven't posted pictures in such a long time, a couple reasons for that are how wickedly long it takes to get them uploaded. Here are a couple for you, hopefully I will get some more up in the next 2 months! :)
This is a baby bat that flew into our house, the kids were super stoked that they could pet it! Unfortunately it was not able to fly well enough to get back into the attic so Evan took it out side and gave it to the guard! Not sure what happened after that! Sorry that the picture is blurry!
Our house getting worked on!
Ginger when she was just a little puppy, she is now a growing mutt! It is amazing that she was so small and sick and now is healthy and full of energy!
Micah at the Halloween party at TASOK, face painted like a panda! Micah decided to try bobbing for apples hence the messed up face!
This is a baby bat that flew into our house, the kids were super stoked that they could pet it! Unfortunately it was not able to fly well enough to get back into the attic so Evan took it out side and gave it to the guard! Not sure what happened after that! Sorry that the picture is blurry!
Our house getting worked on!
Ginger when she was just a little puppy, she is now a growing mutt! It is amazing that she was so small and sick and now is healthy and full of energy!
Micah at the Halloween party at TASOK, face painted like a panda! Micah decided to try bobbing for apples hence the messed up face!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
growing up
Huge news in our house, Micah lost her first tooth!
Ironically it wasn't her tooth that was loose it was the one beside it! Last weekend Emmanuel and Micah were running around the house with the mop! Emmanuel decided to swing it around and it smacked Micah in the mouth, resulting in a cut lip and a very loose tooth! A couple days later it came out still very attached to half the root! You could see where it was broken off!
Thankfully Micah's lip didn't need stitches and she is as cute as ever with a gap in the front of her mouth! Now if the tooth that is actually loose would fall out!
Hopefully I can post pictures when we find the cord for our camera to upload them!
Ironically it wasn't her tooth that was loose it was the one beside it! Last weekend Emmanuel and Micah were running around the house with the mop! Emmanuel decided to swing it around and it smacked Micah in the mouth, resulting in a cut lip and a very loose tooth! A couple days later it came out still very attached to half the root! You could see where it was broken off!
Thankfully Micah's lip didn't need stitches and she is as cute as ever with a gap in the front of her mouth! Now if the tooth that is actually loose would fall out!
Hopefully I can post pictures when we find the cord for our camera to upload them!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Sickness
Our house over the last 6ish weeks has been filled with sickness! Everyone of us has caught something in that time, I held on to something for most of that time!
It all started with getting what I thought was the stomach flu, I felt great as long as no food was in my stomach but as soon as I tried to eat anything I was running to the bathroom! On week 2 I was able to start stomaching small things like watermelon and rice cakes! I am so much better now but my stomach hasn't fully recovered and it still tends to shout at me when it is unhappy! This last weekend just as things really started to look up I was hit by a sinus infection! I have never had one in my life and let me just tell you they are NOT fun! Still fighting that at the moment.
The kids have also been sick in this time frame, mostly on and off with weird stomach things! I honestly think we all have some weird parasite or something!
This last weekend Evan also started to get sick. He was hit by fever, chills, no energy, sore throat, headache and nausea! At one point we were both lying in bed trying to convince to other one to call in sick and take the day off! We both ended up going into work because that is just how we roll!
Evan found out yesterday that he actually has Malaria, the first one in our family! There should be a medal for that........... hmmmmm!
Hoping that November is a month of health for our family and hopefully some relaxing weekends as well!
It all started with getting what I thought was the stomach flu, I felt great as long as no food was in my stomach but as soon as I tried to eat anything I was running to the bathroom! On week 2 I was able to start stomaching small things like watermelon and rice cakes! I am so much better now but my stomach hasn't fully recovered and it still tends to shout at me when it is unhappy! This last weekend just as things really started to look up I was hit by a sinus infection! I have never had one in my life and let me just tell you they are NOT fun! Still fighting that at the moment.
The kids have also been sick in this time frame, mostly on and off with weird stomach things! I honestly think we all have some weird parasite or something!
This last weekend Evan also started to get sick. He was hit by fever, chills, no energy, sore throat, headache and nausea! At one point we were both lying in bed trying to convince to other one to call in sick and take the day off! We both ended up going into work because that is just how we roll!
Evan found out yesterday that he actually has Malaria, the first one in our family! There should be a medal for that........... hmmmmm!
Hoping that November is a month of health for our family and hopefully some relaxing weekends as well!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
The Schellenbergs ......... wait who?
Apparently I have become so very slack on the whole blogging thing! Oops!
We are busy people, I had no ideas how little time we have when both Evan and I work full time, the kids are in school and after school programs, our house is a job site, meals to prepare and I don't have an and..... we are just busy!
The hardest fact to swallow is I don't have to clean my house or do our families laundry! Working moms my hat goes off to you!
Here is a very random update on our lives and I am guessing I will forget things but that just means more juicy details for a future post!
er!
- Our regular house keeper had to go in for surgery and was taking 3 weeks off for healing and rest. On the first day the substitute house cleaner was here on her own she bleach about half of our clothes! Out of 4 black tank tops I now have 3 tie die tanks tops and 1 black one! I had almost all my work shirt ruined, 1 of Evan's work shirts, a couple t-shirts of Emmanuel and Micah's and almost all of our underwear ( underwear doesn't really matter though).
- Our house has been a job site for 7 LONG weeks, we just got hot water, okay running water last week and it is still touch and go! I took 1 shower and Evan's parents place in that 7 weeks.... how I missed showers! Bathing when you need to haul the water and boil it so it is hot is so much work I often ended up sponge bathing in cold water!
Tiles are half finished and electrical is coming along! Hopefully this next week our pool will be up and running and our washing machine will be operable again!
- I am not walking to work by myself anymore! A couple weeks ago and man started to show up on the corner of the street where the kids and I turn towards school. He would yell at my and get all worked up, I didn't think much of it until one day he grabbed my arm and spun me around as I walked by! The kids and I now walk with the guard!
Unfortunately it is another way that it feels like I have lost some of my freedom but I am trying to embrace and accept!
- Evan's work is busy and keeps him very preoccupied! I can't complain because mine does as well!
- We return to Calgary for Christmas holidays in approximately 8 weeks! WHOO HOO ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
I will think of more to update a little later............. hopefully ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
We are busy people, I had no ideas how little time we have when both Evan and I work full time, the kids are in school and after school programs, our house is a job site, meals to prepare and I don't have an and..... we are just busy!
The hardest fact to swallow is I don't have to clean my house or do our families laundry! Working moms my hat goes off to you!
Here is a very random update on our lives and I am guessing I will forget things but that just means more juicy details for a future post!
er!
- Our regular house keeper had to go in for surgery and was taking 3 weeks off for healing and rest. On the first day the substitute house cleaner was here on her own she bleach about half of our clothes! Out of 4 black tank tops I now have 3 tie die tanks tops and 1 black one! I had almost all my work shirt ruined, 1 of Evan's work shirts, a couple t-shirts of Emmanuel and Micah's and almost all of our underwear ( underwear doesn't really matter though).
- Our house has been a job site for 7 LONG weeks, we just got hot water, okay running water last week and it is still touch and go! I took 1 shower and Evan's parents place in that 7 weeks.... how I missed showers! Bathing when you need to haul the water and boil it so it is hot is so much work I often ended up sponge bathing in cold water!
Tiles are half finished and electrical is coming along! Hopefully this next week our pool will be up and running and our washing machine will be operable again!
- I am not walking to work by myself anymore! A couple weeks ago and man started to show up on the corner of the street where the kids and I turn towards school. He would yell at my and get all worked up, I didn't think much of it until one day he grabbed my arm and spun me around as I walked by! The kids and I now walk with the guard!
Unfortunately it is another way that it feels like I have lost some of my freedom but I am trying to embrace and accept!
- Evan's work is busy and keeps him very preoccupied! I can't complain because mine does as well!
- We return to Calgary for Christmas holidays in approximately 8 weeks! WHOO HOO ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
I will think of more to update a little later............. hopefully ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
The tale of a mango worm
Our family has had its share of staf infections ( even different strains of them), we have gotten so used to treating them we have not gone into the hospital for the last 2. We take care of the disinfecting, cleaning, applying cream, wrapping and squeezing puss at home. Granted we do watch them VERY carefully and at any point we feel they are getting worse instead of better or they are not healing as fast as we like we head into the hospital for antibiotics!
Rewind to last Monday morning, I was brushing Micah's hair and notice a very red bump on the top of her ear. Right away my heart sank ( as good as we have gotten at treating these they are hard to have around and draining to see), I told Micah I would have to clean it and put the cream on. On Tuesday night it wasn't really improving put I did notice that puss had com too the surface. I tried popping it but only clear fluid came out! Wednesday morning when Micah was eating breakfast before school I checked her ear again and notice some "puss" coming out! So I told Micah that I would need to pop it, Micah put down her Nutella sandwich and braced herself ( they are tender). Well 2 squeezes and some tears later a MANGO WORM popped out! Ewwww!
The best part, I showed it to Micah who looked said oh and pick up her sandwich and kept eating!
Nothing fazes my kids!
** Mango worms are very common here, they lay there eggs in your clothes and then transfer onto your skin in moist areas. Yes, I do bath my kids ! :)
Rewind to last Monday morning, I was brushing Micah's hair and notice a very red bump on the top of her ear. Right away my heart sank ( as good as we have gotten at treating these they are hard to have around and draining to see), I told Micah I would have to clean it and put the cream on. On Tuesday night it wasn't really improving put I did notice that puss had com too the surface. I tried popping it but only clear fluid came out! Wednesday morning when Micah was eating breakfast before school I checked her ear again and notice some "puss" coming out! So I told Micah that I would need to pop it, Micah put down her Nutella sandwich and braced herself ( they are tender). Well 2 squeezes and some tears later a MANGO WORM popped out! Ewwww!
The best part, I showed it to Micah who looked said oh and pick up her sandwich and kept eating!
Nothing fazes my kids!
** Mango worms are very common here, they lay there eggs in your clothes and then transfer onto your skin in moist areas. Yes, I do bath my kids ! :)
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Oh my!
I am sitting here in my office trying to motivate myself to do more work, I am tried today and just finished grading 50 tests.... my brain wants to quit!
I thought why not read back a couple posts and start to put together a new post before I head out to do some work with the grade 5's and teach my classes this afternoon.
Well, I was reading back a couple of posts and got to one line and burst out laughing...... full out laughing! I start talk OUT LOUD about what was so funny and very quickly realized that no one else was around!
Apparently I have become my own best friend! ** sigh**
I thought why not read back a couple posts and start to put together a new post before I head out to do some work with the grade 5's and teach my classes this afternoon.
Well, I was reading back a couple of posts and got to one line and burst out laughing...... full out laughing! I start talk OUT LOUD about what was so funny and very quickly realized that no one else was around!
Apparently I have become my own best friend! ** sigh**
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